'Sam's Day ~ Lynda's Arrival'

~ Morning of Sam's Day/Lynda's Arrival ~

(Song Playing 'Immortality', in memory of Lynda's angel in Heaven, Elliott')

It came too soon... I couldn't believe that our Sam's 1st heavenly Birthday Celebrations were actually here! All the months of planning and organisation were complete, now it was time!

On this very special day, we also had another very special thing happening... Our precious friend Lynda Beaumont was driving down from Yorkshire to be with us today! We had never met before, our friendship was created last August 2002, when Lynda emailed me after visiting Jack and Sam's Website... An online friendship about to turn into reality, for we were to actually meet in person...

I was so scared, so nervous to meet Lynda and her 2 daughters... What would I say? What would we do? How would the initial meeting go? I was so excited to meet her, I couldn't wait... We knew she would be arriving about 10.30am and those few hours when she was driving down were incredibly tense... I couldn't believe we were all going to meet this 'wonderful person', and be able to 'hold her in our arms' for real...

We awoke this morning with heavy hearts, and many tears... There was still so much to do on this morning. First thing we did was to go the Church and take everything down that needed to be ready in the Church before the Service...

We had Sam's Framed Portrait which would be placed at the top of the Church throughout the service, the gifts for Sam's Cousins, Chloe & Phoebe, our Midwives and the Portrait of angel Elliott for Lynda, the Book of Remembrance for our guests to sign and the 'Tags' that people may need to write on to attach to the balloons after the Church Service...

Sophie and I drove to the Church and started to carry everything in that we needed... We placed everything where it needed to be... The Church was 'quiet', just us there, where we spent a while, sitting and remembering Sam, and saying a special prayer...

We spoke with our Vicar Chris and he told us he had something he wished us to see... Sophie and I were taken to a little room, where this very special thing was waiting... We couldn't believe it... There it was, the most beautiful 'Candle Stick' ever...

Chris explained that this was the Candle Stick that was bought with the £500 donation that we made to him when we had our Jack's 1st Heavenly Birthday Memorial in 2001. It was Beautiful... It was to hold the 'New 2003 Easter Candle' at the Services this year... Chris said it would be placed in the Church during Sam's Service on this day, and we would light this very special candle in Memory of Sam, bought by the fundraising for Jack!

~ Jack's Beautiful Candle Stick

After Sophie and I left the Church, we drove down to the 'Florists' to collect Sam's single red rose and to also purchase a 'helium balloon' for Lynda when she arrived at our home... Sophie and I spent so long trying to choose the perfect one... Then we saw it, a 'Winnie the Pooh with Tigger, and the saying 'Forever Friends'...

We purchased this and started to drive home, knowing that Lynda would be arriving shortly... Just as Sophie and I were talking of Lynda's impending arrival, my 'mobile phone' rang... It was my husband Andrew... Sophie and I just looked at each other, hearts pounding, scared to answer the phone, wondering if Lynda had arrived early and was already there...

Andrew said that Lynda had just called, and she was about 15 minutes away... OMG, we couldn't believe it... Sophie and I drove straight home... Placed Sam's rose in his special vase, and held onto Lynda's balloon until she arrived...

John Worland had also just called at that time and wanted to 'video' the arrival and the first meeting of Lynda and myself. John arrived and set up his equipment with another photographer just outside our house, awaiting Lynda's arrival...

Within minutes, the phone rang again... It was Lynda... Andrew was giving her final directions on how to find our house, she was just a few minutes away... We had our cameras ready, Sophie & Ben were so excited, John Worland was ready and all we could do was wait!

I was crying before I even saw Lynda, but the emotions came flooding out as soon as we saw her blue car slowly pulling into our avenue! "She was here", and I couldn't quite believe it... Was this really Lynda in person, here, at our house, after months and months of online conversation and telephone calls...

I ran to the road, I hesitated, we saw each other, she opened her car door, and we just cried, cried together, cried in each others arms and found it hard to let go...

Here is the moment that Lynda and I actually met... After the initial meeting and believing that Lynda was 'actually here', it felt as though we had known each other all our lives... Everything was so comfortable, so easy and so 'normal'...

Very few words were said, I felt like I was being choked by my tears, I had so much to say, so much to talk to Lynda about, but all we could do was cry! It was too emotional... Such intense friendship, formed through the internet, bringing two people together, from across the country, that share a pain so powerful, each knowing just how the other is feeling and hurting... I cannot believe that after so long of an 'online friendship', this had now been blessed with the reality of meeting this wonderful lady, in person...

As soon as we had both regained some 'calm' and composure', Lynda ventured to the back of her car where her eldest daughter Chloe was sitting waving through the window, smiling from cheek to cheek... Her youngest daughter Phoebe was chuckling away in her car seat...

Chloe ran straight indoors to play with Sophie & Ben, and Lynda carried Phoebe in her arms... I was handed bags of gifts and 2 beautiful Roses which Lynda had bought with her to share with our family on this special day...

As we got to our front door, Andrew hugged Lynda and his tears fell just like ours did... Sophie & Ben were in awe at this wonderful lady and her family, that had become a very special part of their Mummy's life over the months...

After John Worland and the Photographer that was working with him that morning had finished their filming of Lynda's Arrival and our first meeting, they both came in for a coffee before we all had to head off for the Church... John was leaving slightly before us, allowing time to set his camera's up in the Church before the Service was to start...

Everything was so natural with Lynda here in our home... The children all played together while Andrew, Lynda and Myself tried to say everything we wanted to say in such a short time... We knew that within a few hours, after Sam's Heavenly Birthday Celebrations, it would be time for Lynda to start her journey home again... Something we just didn't want to think about!

Lynda had bought so many gifts down for us all... There were presents for Sophie & Ben, Roses in memory of Jack and Sam and gifts for Andrew and I... We knew we had a very special gift for Lynda too, the Portrait we had drawn of 'Elliott', but we had to wait! Andrew was to give this gift to Lynda during our Sam's Church Service. We were so excited, couldn't wait for her to receive it...

In the hour that followed Lynda's arrival, we talked, we drank coffee and I memorised everything about Lynda... I still couldn't believe that this special lady had driven for hours, in unknown roads, all the way from Yorkshire with her two young daughters to be with us on this day... Every minute was precious, and we made sure that we treasured every second with her...

We opened gifts, drank more coffee, Lynda went to our lounge to see the resting place of our Jack and our Sam, and we cried many more tears... Before we knew it, time had flown past us and it was time to leave for the Church, for the beginning of our Sam's very special day ~ his Remembrance Service...

Lynda followed us to the Church, where I introduced many of our family and friends to her... I had told so many people that she would be sharing this day with us, and everyone was so excited to meet her... Even at this moment in time, it was still hard to believe that Lynda was actually 'here'...